[LNP | LancasterOnline] Toxic trains: Real-time hazmat info hard to get, even for Lancaster County's first responders

Getting real-time information on those materials is nearly impossible because in a post-9/11 environment, railroads aren't required to share that information.

Reporters for LNP | LancasterOnline and WITF sought detailed information about train cargo from 12 central Pennsylvania counties. Only three of those counties said they had lists of specific chemicals being carried by trains. None had real-time information.

That secrecy means emergency responders might not know what hazardous materials they're dealing with until they reach the scene, and that there is no single, consistent way to find the information at the scene — all of which could slow response time or put them in danger.

Lancaster County responded with a commodity list from 2021, the most recent available, that detailed 28 most common hazardous materials running through the county on rail. The county also later provided the Hazardous Rail Transit  (HART) Plan for Lancaster County, which addresses railroad transportation risks and gives emergency responders a general response plan.

Municipal responses

Calls to municipal officials throughout the county for records of hazardous materials moving on trains were largely unsuccessful.

Officials from municipalities including East Donegal Township, Columbia, Manor Township, Conestoga Township, Martic Township, Drumore Township and Fulton Township did not return calls for comment. Others from Conoy Township and West Hempfield Township, when asked if they had any type of documents detailing hazardous materials on trains, said no.

State and federal legislators are calling for greater transparency, as ongoing Congressional testimony has shown first responders weren't able to access information about the chemicals in the overturned cars in Ohio right away.

"There's not enough information upfront, and it is frustrating," said Duane Hagelgans, emergency management coordinator for Millersville and Manor Township. Hagelgans also is the fire commissioner for Blue Rock Fire Rescue and a professor of emergency management at Millersville University.

Norfolk Southern, the railroad at the center of the East Palestine disaster, has rail lines in 25 Lancaster County municipalities including Columbia, declined a phone interview and did not give specific details on hazardous materials in the county.

Federal Rail Administration representatives said government officials can request information from railroads annually, but they aren't legally required to provide the information.

County officials, when asked about hazardous materials, said that information is compiled for emergency preparedness and isn't shared publicly.

The 2021 list was created by county personnel, who went to rail lines, observed trains and recorded the hazardous material codes from placards on the side of the cars, said Michael Fitzpatrick, a county government spokesperson, and Zack Gibbons, the hazardous materials administrator for Lancaster Emergency Management Agency.

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